Recently I had coffee with a former Dallas Cowboy. We first met at a breakfast event kicking off the Tom Landry Open golf tournament. He shared a story of how Coach Landry influenced his life as a player.
The setting was RFK Stadium in D.C. It was near the end of the game and the Redskins were about to kick a field goal. Coach Ditka, who as an assistant coach at the time, told my Dallas Cowboy friend to stop the kick no matter what. To him that meant do whatever he had to do and it resulted in a cheap shot on the kicker.
After the play, it got ugly with tempers flaring and a few punches thrown. He, however, came out unscathed and started walking to the bench. The look,though,that Coach Landry gave him was one he didn't ever want to see again.
The next morning he received a call from Coach Landry's assistant. "Coach wants you in his office ASAP." This Dallas Cowboy knew he was in trouble. Coach Landry proceeded to tell him that he had been drafted because of athletic skills, not his cheap shots on players. If he were to ever do it again, he would be "looking for another team to play on." He said there was just a split second where he wanted to blame it on Coach Ditka but he knew that would be the wrong response. The lesson learned has been with him the rest of his life.
There have been times I have tried to pass the blame onto others and discovered, as I'm sure you know, that it never pans out the way you think it will. Today, be the man, the woman, the husband, wife, son or daughter, brother or sister you know you should be. And, if you have done wrong, don't blame someone else. Take it to Christ first then boldly change your actions. And be grateful for the opportunity for a "do-over".